Unsung Composers

The Music => Composers & Music => Topic started by: Hector on Thursday 27 November 2025, 14:46

Title: Charles Philippe Lafont 1781 – 1839
Post by: Hector on Thursday 27 November 2025, 14:46
We seem to have remarkably few recordings or performances of Lafont's music compared with other violinist-composers of the era, for instance Rode or Kreutzer, does any one know why that is? There's not even much on IMSLP.
Title: Re: Charles Philippe Lafont 1781 – 1839
Post by: Hector on Tuesday 09 December 2025, 10:02
Perhaps the answer to the question of why we have so few recordings or performances of Lafont's music, despite the fame he enjoyed in his lifetime, is that no one is particularly interested now? Also, I read that not that much of his music was published. 
Title: Re: Charles Philippe Lafont 1781 – 1839
Post by: Mark Thomas on Tuesday 09 December 2025, 10:06
You are probably correct in that assumption. Many unsung composers remain unrecorded until someone who is interested in them decides to put their hands in their pockets and pay for a recording.
Title: Re: Charles Philippe Lafont 1781 – 1839
Post by: Jonathan on Tuesday 09 December 2025, 18:47
Even Liszt's "Grand Duo concertant sur la Romance de M. Lafont (S.128)", for violin and piano is only included in complete editions of Liszt's violin and piano music.  The Liszt Society published the score of the original work (by Lafont) alongside the Liszt work a few years ago.
Title: Re: Charles Philippe Lafont 1781 – 1839
Post by: eschiss1 on Wednesday 10 December 2025, 05:53
BNF has 132 printed and 13 manuscript entries of scores composed by him (or partially by him). Don't know just offhand how many are of different publications of the same work, but even that militates against an impression of a composer who was never remembered. Of the works at BNF that Gallica has digitized (and many more in their catalog haven't been), not all have been mirrored at IMSLP yet, either (e.g. C'est une larme (https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb45567294p), by Lafond ("presumably" Lafont) , the Lafont/Kalkbrenner Op.97 Grand duo here (https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb43087115j), and La mélancolie (https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1508852b), duo in D major on Russian themes by Lafont, none of which are, near as I can tell, as yet uploaded, likewise several other already-digitized works.)
Title: Re: Charles Philippe Lafont 1781 – 1839
Post by: promusician on Wednesday 10 December 2025, 07:08
There are 7 violin concertos, which not a single one was recorded. VC 2,3,4,6,7 have their score and parts in BNF.
Title: Re: Charles Philippe Lafont 1781 – 1839
Post by: Hector on Friday 12 December 2025, 10:05
There's an interesting, if not concise, article about Lafont and Paganini on Peter-Sheppard-Skaerved's website....

https://www.peter-sheppard-skaerved.com/2010/12/charles-philippe-lafont-variations-on-la-vestale/